Bewildered
by pleiades717
Summary: I was on my way to Paradise Valley Hospital to see my daughter, Bella. I realized with a pang of regret that I should have gone after her sooner." This is essentially Twilight Chapters 19 “Goodbyes” and 24 “An Impasse” from Charlie’s POV.


I always considered myself a patient man. After all, I'd spent every weekend for the past thirty-odd years sitting quietly in a boat or on the bank, waiting for the Olympic Peninsula fish to bite. But that was nothing compared to the patience it required to sit on a four-hour flight bound for Phoenix.

I was on my way to Paradise Valley Hospital to see my daughter, Bella. I realized with a pang of regret that I should have gone after her sooner, if not when she stormed out of the house Sunday night, then certainly when I'd heard about the accident.

It was hard to believe it had only been five days since I stood dumbstruck on the doorstep, fighting the urge to chase after her as she sprinted into the night with tears in her eyes. Like her mother before her, Bella had been determined to leave the small town of Forks, and me, forever, and I'd felt powerless to stop her.

At least with Renee, I had seen it coming, but I really thought Bella was getting along okay here. She'd made friends with Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton, both popular kids, and she'd told me earlier that night that she was dating one of the Cullen boys. One minute she was going to play baseball in the rain with his family, and the next she was charging into the house and packing a bag.

I heard them pull up in the monster Jeep. I was standing in the living room, ready to put an end to any lingering goodnight kisses, when Bella threw open the door.

"Go away Edward!" she screamed.

She slammed the door and ran past me, up the stairs. I followed her to her room and stood outside the locked door, completely confounded.

"Bella, are you okay? What's going on?"

"I'm going home!"

I could hear her dresser drawers being pulled open. As the Chief of Police, several scenarios went through my head, but as a father, I didn't want to believe any of them.

"Did he hurt you?" I asked angrily.

"No!"

"Did he break up with you?"

"No!"

Nothing had prepared me for the dramatics of a teenage daughter. I was completely out of my element. I almost suggested she call her mother, but Renee was prone to dramatics of her own and I didn't want to make matters worse.

"What happened, Bella?" I asked helplessly.

"I broke up with him!" Her door flew open and a sense of panic went through me when I saw the bag in her hand.

"What happened? I thought you liked him?"

I followed her downstairs and grabbed her elbow. I needed her to talk to me before I ran over to the Cullens' demanding answers.

I spun her around to face me and saw her fresh tears. "I do like him," she spat at me. "That's the problem. I can't do this anymore! I can't put down any more roots here!" I didn't hear the rest of what she said. I let go of her, stunned. Whatever had happened, I wasn't expecting this.

She continued for the door.

"Just wait another week," I begged, barely able to get my voice past the lump in my throat. "Renee will be back by then."

She stopped. "What?"

Finally! I was getting through to her. I quickly and eagerly told her about the conversation I'd had with her mother, hoping it was enough to make her stay.

But she shook her head and reached for the doorknob. I reached for her. If I couldn't stop her, I at least wanted to hug her goodbye. I wasn't usually the touchy-feely type, but my emotions were running a little high.

"Just let me go, Charlie. It didn't work out, okay? I really, really _hate _Forks!"

Her mother had said those same words to me seventeen years ago, when she'd walked out of my life with our child in her arms. I hadn't thought anything could hurt more than that moment, but hearing Bella say them now crushed me in a way I hadn't known was possible.

I stood there on the doorstep, stunned. She called something back to me--I didn't hear what--and drove away. I thought of jumping in the cruiser and going after her. I'd have to arrest her to make her stay. Not a terrible idea, but in the end I knew she would only resent me more for it.

I thought of driving out to the Cullens' to see if I could get answers, but through the open door I heard the phone ring in the kitchen. I sprinted for it, hoping it was Bella, momentarily forgetting that she didn't have a cell phone.

It was just Billy, asking me if I'd gotten Harry's fish fry.

Monday and Tuesday were agonizing. I had gotten used to hearing Bella move around in the kitchen and upstairs. I didn't mind fending for myself, but after years of living alone, it had been nice coming home to the smells of dinner cooking and the warmth of having another person in the house.

She'd left without her school bag or the picture of Renee on her desk. She'd left all the clothes in her closest, and while most of them were more suited for Forks than Phoenix, a part of me held out hope that she'd be back for them.

Every time the phone rang, I answered with, "Bella?" It was usually a concerned schoolmate or someone from the station, asking me if I'd heard from her.

I didn't get many personal calls at work, so I was surprised when I picked up the phone Wednesday afternoon and heard a sweet female voice ask for me by my first name.

"This is Chief Swan," I corrected her.

"Charlie, this is Alice Cullen, Edward's sister."

I stiffened when I heard his name. I had already decided he was to blame for Bella's departure. I didn't need my law enforcement instincts to know that something he'd said or done had driven her away.

"Go ahead," I urged skeptically.

"Charlie, Edward and I are in Phoenix." She paused. "With Bella."

My heart jumped. "Bella?"

"She's okay, but there was an accident. She fell down a couple flights of stairs . . . and through a window." Her voice was oddly soothing, but it wasn't enough to keep my panic at bay.

"She did _what_?"

"I've already called Renee and she's on her way. They have Bella sedated or else I'd let you talk to her."

"I want to talk to her doctor."

She paused again. "I'm not sure where--"

"Find him!"

A moment later I heard the phone exchange hands.

"This is Dr. Levinholt. Are you Isabella Swan's father?"

"Yes. What happened? Is she okay?"

"We're keeping her sedated. She's going to be in a lot of pain and it's best to let her sleep for a few days while she recovers. She was very fortunate that Dr. Cullen was with her."

"Dr. Cullen?" I asked, surprised. I shouldn't have been, I guess, since Alice and Edward were there.

"He was with your daughter when she fell. He tended to her most serious injuries . . . stopped the bleeding and splinted her broken leg."

I felt my stomach drop as he gave me a list of her injuries. The broken leg seemed like nothing compared to the broken ribs, the collapsed lung, the cracks in her skull . . .

He gave the phone back to Alice. "What can I do to help?" I asked her.

"Really, there's nothing to do until she wakes up. Edward is going to stay with her."

"You said Renee was on her way?"

"She'll be in sometime tomorrow morning."

I nodded my head. I knew she couldn't see me, but I was suddenly aware of my deputies staring at me.

Of course my first instinct was to catch the next flight out of Seattle, but I couldn't silence the doubt in the back of my mind.

Did they even want me there?

"I guess there's no point in me flying out there," I told Alice, trying to hide the pain in my voice. "Give her my love when she wakes up, will you?"

"Charlie--"

"'Bye Alice. I appreciate the call."

I hung up before she could say anything else.

Renee called me Thursday afternoon to let me know Bella was still unconscious. It was from her I learned that Edward, Alice and Carlisle had gone to Phoenix to talk Bella into returning to Forks, and that she'd tripped while on her way to their hotel room.

I was going to ask how they knew where to reach her, but Renee cut me off.

"Edward refuses to leave her side for a moment," she told me. "Did you know they were dating?"

"Yes. He's been over to the house." I didn't tell her that he'd only been over once, as far as I knew, and that I'd only found out they were dating Sunday, the day she left. Of the two of us, Renee was certainly the most irresponsible, so why did I suddenly feel like the unfit parent?

"It seems pretty serious," Renee said accusingly. "I think he's in love with her."

I felt my anger flare. That was ridiculous. My daughter and I may not have the same kind of open relationship she had with her mother, but she wouldn't have hidden something like that from me.

"What do you want me to say, Renee?"

"She's too young to be getting serious with a boy, Charlie. For crying out loud, she's still a junior. In _high_ school. Aren't you watching her?"

"Up until now she's been a pretty responsible kid, and in case you've forgotten, I've got a town to protect."

"From what? Rogue fishermen? Bigfoot?" She laughed at her own joke.

I took a deep breath and clenched my fist. "I don't see what the big deal is. He's a good kid. He comes from a nice family. Didn't Dr. Cullen take care of Bella right after the accident?"

"The way I see it, that family was the reason she had the accident in the first place. If she hadn't been on her way to see them--"

Of course I agreed with her completely, but I wasn't about to admit it now. "You and I both know Bella's accident prone. It easily could have been some other set of stairs, at some other--"

"I have to go. Phil is beeping in. I'll call you tomorrow." And just like that, she hung up on me.

I was left wondering about my daughter's relationship with the Cullen boy. Even Bella had said it was still at an early stage, but then she had agreed to suffer through rain and baseball, two things I knew she hated.

And what did it say about his feelings for her that he'd fly fifteen hundred miles to bring her home? _I_ hadn't even done that.

When the phone rang early Friday afternoon, I was expecting Renee.

I let out a tired sigh. "Hello?"

"Chief Swan? This is Edward Cullen."

"What's wrong? How's Bella?"

"She's good, sir. She woke up this morning and she'd like to see you."

_She'd like to see you._ I felt a surge of emotion. "Really?" I asked. My mouth formed the words but no sound came out. I cleared my throat, ready to repeat myself, but Edward answered my silent question.

"Yes, sir. You can probably catch a flight out this afternoon. Carlisle is offering to buy your ticket if you--"

"I can buy my own plane ticket." It came out a little harsher than I'd meant it to. "But tell him I appreciate the offer. I appreciate everything he's done for Bella. Can I talk to her?"

"They've just given her some medication for the pain and she's sleeping, but I promised her I'd call you." He paused. "We'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah. Tonight. Hey, Edward?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Thank you . . . for calling."

"You're welcome. Wear a T-shirt under your parka. It's a little warm here."

Leaving my gun belt at the station, I went straight to the airport in uniform, making the other passengers uncomfortable. The bulky Forks Chief of Police jacket got plenty of stares as I walked briskly down the hospital corridor looking for Bella's room, but it was nearing nine o'clock and visiting hours were almost over. Maybe the uniform would buy me a few minutes with my daughter.

I knew I was close when I heard Renee's voice. Immediately my legs slowed down and my heart sped up. I hadn't seen Renee in a year and a half, since she'd met me in California to pick up Bella after our two-week visitation.

I had always thought it would get easier, over time, but Renee just got more and more beautiful. It didn't really help much that Bella looked so much like her mother; the same deep brown eyes, chestnut hair, pale creamy skin. Renee smiled a lot more than our daughter did, and I sensed that Bells got that from me. It was a shame. When she did smile, it was absolutely radiant.

"I love you, dear. I'll see you tomorrow," I heard Renee say. And then she added reluctantly. "Goodbye, Edward."

"Goodbye Renee," I heard Cullen say.

"'Bye, Mom."

I felt a twinge of jealousy. I had made the decision not to come earlier, but I was suddenly, irrationally upset with Renee for having all of this time with our daughter.

She came around the doorframe, almost bumping into me.

Her hair was cut short and she smelled wonderful, but not as she had when we were married. I wondered bitterly if this was some perfume Phil had gotten her.

"Oh! Charlie, you startled me. Why are you standing out here?"

"I just got here. Is she awake?"

"Yes. You can go on in."

Who did she think she was, giving me permission to see my own daughter? The question was quickly drowned out by another, more familiar one: If I had been willing to leave Forks seventeen years ago, would we still be together?

Renee turned to glance inside the room, and when she turned back to me, her eyes were sad.

"Take care of our daughter," she said, and then stepped around me.

I walked into the room, confused by what she'd said. I was here because Bella had asked me to come, but I had no disillusions about why I had been invited. Bella wanted to say a proper goodbye. She'd be moving back in with Phil and her mother after she was released from the hospital, and I was just grateful she wanted to see me one last time.

I thought Dr. Levinholt and Renee had prepared me for what I was about to see, but it still brought a lump to my throat. My small, vulnerable daughter was lying in the bed, bandaged and broken. The bottom of her leg was in a cast. Her right hand was wrapped in gauze and her left hand had tubes coming out of it. There was a large bruise on one cheek and a small cut at her hairline. She had several bruises on her exposed arms and I suspected many more that couldn't be seen.

"Dad!"

"Hey Bells. How do you feel?"

She shrugged and then winced. "I guess that answers your question," she said.

Edward Cullen sat in a chair next to her and stood up. He looked stranger than usual, but I couldn't put my finger on what the difference was.

I wasn't excited about my daughter dating him, to be honest. I liked the Cullens and was the first to stand up for them against the ridiculous town gossip, but the truth was that people generally avoided them. Even Dr. Cullen had had trouble getting patients to see him when they'd first moved to town. I wanted my daughter to fit in there, to make a bunch of friends, and if she were hanging out with the Cullens, she'd probably be ostracized.

I supposed it didn't matter now that she'd left Forks forever, but I found myself wishing she had gone out with someone more popular, someone like Mike Newton.

Edward's eyes flickered to mine and I felt a chill run down my spine. He looked angry or . . . jealous? That was ridiculous, but there was something about the way he looked at me, as if he knew something I didn't. No, it was just the opposite. He looked at me with understanding, as if he knew _exactly_ what I knew, as if he could read my thoughts.

In a second it was gone and he smiled warmly at me. He looked paler than usual in the fluorescent lights of the hospital, and the dark rings under his eyes told me he hadn't slept in several days.

"I'll leave you two alone," he said to me, and then turned to my daughter. "I'll be right outside." He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead.

I remembered what Renee had said about them being in love. As soon as his lips touched her skin, her heart monitor went crazy and she blushed. I narrowed my eyes at the Cullen kid as he walked past me.

"So," Bella said, "welcome to Phoenix. How was your flight?"

"Are you gonna tell me what the hell happened?"

"Oh, you know me. I'm out of your house for two days and I forget how to walk down a flight of stairs."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

She lowered her eyes and spoke softly. "I know Dad. I'm sorry."

"You really had me worried, kid. No warning, you just storm out in the middle of the night. I know how emotional you can get, you get that from your mother, but I thought you had a little of my good sense."

"I do. I was just . . . scared."

"Scared of what?"

She ran the thumb of her left hand over the bandage on her right. "I wanted to protect you."

I stared at her for a second, trying to make sense of that. "Honey, I'm the Chief of Police. In _Forks_, of all places. Nothing is going to happen to me."

She looked at me briefly and I thought I saw fear in her eyes.

"Unless, of course, you trip in the kitchen and end up setting the house on fire or something," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked. She laughed. I removed my jacket, which was too heavy, even in the air-conditioned hospital room, and walked over to sit in the chair Cullen had occupied.

"Look, I'm sorry it didn't work out with us, but I'm really glad you came to live with me, even if it was for a few short months. I'll miss your cooking, at any rate." I smiled. I wasn't good at this emotional crap, but I couldn't leave it at that. "And your company," I added sincerely.

Her eyes got wide. "But I want to go home."

I looked down at my lap, not trusting myself to stay composed. "I know honey, and it's okay. I understand. Renee needs you, and you need her."

"I need you, too, Charlie." She sounded like she was crying, and that made me uncomfortable. I shifted my weight and looked at the ceiling.

"Well, I guess we can go back to doing summers in California."

"No."

Ouch. That stung.

"Bells, I can't go all the way to Jacksonville. That's . . ." I tried to figure out the miles in my head, but gave up. "Look, Florida is the absolute farthest you can get from Forks and still be in the U.S. If you want to see me, you'll have to meet me half way. How about Nebraska?"

I thought I heard someone snicker outside the door. Was Cullen listening?

"Dad, I'm not going to Jacksonville. I want to go home with you."

I looked at her. "With me? But what about all those things you said?" The things I couldn't bear to think about.

"I didn't mean them, and I'm so sorry I hurt you. I love you."

I felt something inside me swell at her words, and while I sensed a real bonding moment here, I couldn't quite bring myself to say the words.

"Besides," she added, saving me. "Forks really isn't so bad." I saw her eyes flicker to the door. "The sun is definitely overrated."

I raised an eyebrow. I never thought I'd hear her say _those _words.

"In that case," I said, "you're grounded."

"Grounded?"

I stood up. "You heard me. One day for every day you made me worry about you."

"That's fair, I guess."

"And as soon as you're completely healed, you're doing the dishes every night for a month."

"I already do the dishes every night."

"I help."

"Name one time you've cleaned a dish since I moved in," she challenged. I opened my mouth to make my argument, but nothing came to mind. I'd had it pretty easy these last few months.

"What would you do without me?" she asked.

"I don't know," I answered, "and I don't really want to find out, so why don't you take the elevator from now on?" I laid my hand gently on her cast. "I'm going to check into a hotel and let you rest for a bit. I'll be back tomorrow. 'Bye kiddo."

"'Bye Dad."

I draped my jacket over my arm and left the room. As I expected, Cullen was leaning against the wall near the door.

The cop in me wanted to drag him into an empty room and interrogate him, but the father in me already knew the answer to the only question that mattered:

Was he good enough for my daughter?

"I truly hope I am," he said suddenly, and for a brief moment I wondered again, shamefully, if he could read my thoughts. But then he continued, "welcome in your home again, after this. If it hadn't been for me, she wouldn't be here." He easily could have meant Phoenix, but he gestured to the hospital corridor.

There was something wrong with his eyes, but I still couldn't put my finger on it. They were sad, remorseful; I could tell he really blamed himself for my daughter's accident.

Good, we agreed on something.

"You promised me she'd be safe with you."

He averted his eyes, and when he spoke, I could hear the pain in his voice. "I know. I hate myself for letting this happen to her."

I watched him for a moment. I couldn't quite let go of my anger; after all, it was easier to blame him than blame myself. But he didn't _push_ her down the stairs, and he really did seem to care about her.

"Well, I suspect you're the real reason she wants to return to Forks, so I guess I owe you something. She's grounded for a week. You're welcome to come by after that, but we're definitely establishing some rules. A curfew, for starters."

He looked at me gratefully. "Thank you, sir."

I extended my hand for him to shake, but he stood there staring at it. It obviously made him uncomfortable, and for that reason, I didn't lower it. What kind of boy wouldn't shake hands with his girlfriend's father?

"Well son?" I shoved my hand closer to him. He finally took it, reluctant. His skin was cold, smooth, and hard. He gave my hand a quick squeeze and dropped it, then smiled at me sheepishly.

He was certainly odd. Of course _my _daughter would have to fall for him.

"I'll be back in the morning. Keep an eye on her for me?"

"Of course. It's my pleasure."

_I'm sure it is, _I thought to myself. The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-grin.

"Edward? Are you still out there?" Bella called.

"I'm here, love," he called back.

I squinted my eyes at him, doing my best to give him my Chief Swan stare, but I saw the amusement in his eyes.

I left the hospital, and it wasn't until I passed the security desk that I remembered the game. I was glad I'd had enough sense to call Billy and ask him to tape it for me.


End file.
